MOBILE, Ala. ? LaShun Watson scored 13 of his career-high 15 points in the opening half Friday, adding seven rebounds to help lead the University of South Alabama to a 71-59 men’s basketball victory over Maine in the opening round of the USA Basketball Classic at the Mitchell Center.

The Jaguars (3-3), who snapped a two-game losing streak, will face UC Davis ? a 76-62 winner over Tulane ? Saturday in the championship contest.  That game will start 30 minutes after the conclusion of the consolation match-up between the Black Bears (3-3) and Green Wave.

Watson’s performance helped USA build a 40-20 halftime advantage, as the Jags led by double digits for the final 30 minutes.  Brandon Davis paced the team with 18 points, eight rebounds and three steals, as he and Watson combined to make 13-of-17 shots from the field.  Domonic Tilford collected 15 points and a career-best seven assists, and DeAndré Coleman came off the bench to supply 11 points and six boards.

In addition to shooting 51.9 percent overall, the Jaguars nailed 7-of-15 three-pointers, turned the ball over just 14 times and limited the Black Bears to 34 percent from the floor.

The Jags were already up 19-11 at the midway point of the opening half when Watson sparked an 11-0 run with a three from the left corner.  The Black Bears, who started only 3-of-13 from the field, proceeded to miss four straight shots while turning the ball over three times during a three-minute stretch.  Davis added a pair of layups and DeAndrae Ross chipped in with a turnaround jump shot from the elbow before Watson ended the spurt with a jumper with seven minutes to go.

USA connected on 11 of its first 15 attempts from the field in building the 30-11 edge, going on to finish the half hitting 57.7 percent.

 “I think we came out really fired up,” said Jag head coach Ronnie Arrow.  “We executed some plays when we really needed to, and I think our guys did a really good job of getting the ball inside.”

Mark Socoby sank 1-of-2 foul shots a half-minute into the game to give Maine its only lead, an advantage the Black Bears would hold for a minute until a Davis layup put USA up.  When Socoby split a pair of free throws with 15-and-a-half minutes to go Maine trailed just 8-6, but Tilford followed two Coleman foul shots with a three from the top of the key as part of an 8-0 stretch that helped the Jags take control of the contest.

Tilford hit three treys and Watson added two as the Jaguars were 6-of-10 from behind the arc in the opening period.  Both players reached double figures in the scoring column before the break, with Watson collecting 13 points ? that equalled his career high coming into the night ? and Tilford 10.

Socoby accounted for 12 of the Black Bears’ 20 first-half points, but Maine ended the period shooting only 25 percent from the floor.

He would go on to pace all players with a season-best 28 points, making 6-of-13 shots from beyond the arc as well as 8-of-10 at the free-throw line.  Gerald McLemore was the only other Black Bear in double figures, posting 10 points, while Sean McNally led everyone with 10 rebounds.

After making 3-of-11 from long distance in the opening half, the Black Bears connected on three of their first four after the break to cut their deficit to 13 points, 44-31, with 16:42 left.  But, they couldn’t get any closer until the final minute as Davis posted 12 points and six rebounds in 12 second-half minutes.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com.  Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

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